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Metairie man convicted of raping, molesting girl over 4-year period

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Michael Wilmot, 34, faces spending the rest of his life in prison, for his conviction Tuesday night (July 16) of the aggravated rape of a girl over a period of four years. The jury also convicted Wilmot of sexual battery. His sentencing hearing is set for Aug. 1.
(JPSO)

He faces mandatory life in prison for the aggravated rape, 25 years to 99 years for the sexual battery. Judge Stephen Enright of the 24th Judicial District Court is scheduled to sentence him Aug. 1.

The prosecutors, Jody Fortunato and Jennifer Rosenbach, argued during the two-day trial that Wilmot raped the child in his Bucktown apartment and warned her to keep quiet. "Tell, and your mom gets hurt," Fortunato quoted Wilmot as telling the girl, now 12 and living in Texas.

The girl disclosed the abuse at her elementary school in Metairie, telling a teacher that Wilmot had "taken her virginity," Sheriff's Office detective Kay Horne wrote in an affidavit following Wilmot's March 12, 2012, arrest. Wilmot confessed to an array of sexual activities with the girl and said she initiated it, Horne wrote.

Wilmot, who worked at a pizzeria when he was arrested, denied the charges. Calling them "horrific accusations," his attorney, Graham Bosworth, said the confession was falsely given and was affected by his "drug addict" client's smoking crack cocaine before the three-hour interrogation.

Bosworth questioned the girl's story, saying she gave "dramatically" contradictory details about the abuse, including where it began and what it involved. The girl, for instance, had said she initially told her mother -- not a teacher -- of the abuse initially.

The jury deliberated almost three hours in reaching the verdict, which was announced about 11 p.m.